The Legend of Cremur
by Oshidoshi
Summary: The Purger, a ship maintained by the roughest pirates in the sea, crashes on The Mother, an island thought to be the doorway to Hel. A little Crotonian shifter escapes the clutches of his pirate family, only to be whisked away by desperate Crotonians whom need him to free them from the island chain. This is a story of conflict, adventure, Space Dragons and Crotonians.


**Legend of Cremur:**

**1. Tangled Angel**

The Crotonianboy was tied by the legs, dangling over Captain Zelman's desk

The ship swayed back and forth on torrential waters

The crew were tasked with manning the ship, securing its sides

While Captain Zelman's swashbuckling wife, red-head ginger Loraine, manned the steering wheel

She knew her husband kept a tangled angel in his quarters

The angel-a child-was special

He was a Crotonianboy, and Crotonians were valued in the Nine Islands

That's where this ship is going-to the Nine Islands.

The boy whimpered as the blood rushed to his head

Captain Zelman couldn't hear a thing...or maybe he could.

He probably doesn't care.

As the Nine Islands came into view, large waves began to crash upon the ship.

"Hold fast!" Shouted Loraine, "This is going to be a tricky one!"

The waves crashed upon the ship like as if it were a toy

It rocked back and forth uneasily

And the the chains violently swayed the Crotonianboy from side-to-side

Captain Zelman heard a loud creak

No doubt, it was coming from above him

Another wave crashed upon the ship, fracturing its sails

The ceiling creaked again and Cremur came tumbling down

He crashed upon Captain Zelman's desk

"What the-?"

Zelman sighed

He untied the cloth from the boy's mouth and unchained his feet and arms

"I suppose now you learned your lesson, Glados?" He asked As he mocked the boy's upside-down predicament.

The boy nodded weakly, "yes, sire. Please, do not hang me again."

Captain Zelman leaned in, giving the boy a warning, "Do not act out again."

Cremur glared at him, rubbing his wrists as he thought of ways Zelnan should die.

Another wave crashed upon the surface of the ship

The crew worked tirelessly to turn the sails and stabilize the ship, but nothing was working.

The torrential rains made everything worse

It was hard to see, water kept getting in the eye, the sound of it paired with thesea made hearing a travesty and the deck was slippery with wet!

Captain Zelman came out to inspect the crew, leaving Cremur to himself

Cremur, with a look of scorn on his face, watched him leave

He grumbled to himself, "Ruddy sodder."

He got himself dressed into worn white robes that had clearly suffered years of misuse. The robes had a story to them: they were worn by Cremur's father when he was a servant to Emperor Justinian in the city of Constantinople in 533. There was a certain essence to them-not magic-and it seemed to hold a fragment of his father's soul.

Outside the room, the people on the deck were in disarray.

"We lost port one!" Shouted twenty-year-old Dee (he's been living at sea since he was a lad!)

The ship began to turn on its side

Frightening as it was, Zelman and Loraine weren't scared

The crew was becoming scattered

Zelman looked to his wife and she nodded

It was then he announced, "We are abandoning the Purger!"

The crew came to a momentary halt

Cremur stepped out of the room, hoping he heard the wrong thing.

"This ship is going to capsize," said Captain Zelman, "and there is no way to beat Mother Nature."

The crew took a moment of silence.

They've been on this ship since the early dawn of summer and now that winter was upon them, abandoning the Purger didn't feel right.

"To the boats! All of ya!" Shouted Captain Zelman.

The crew began to scatter, gathering what was most important (clothing, rum, food, money, tiny possessions and stolen tech) and made their retreat to the lifeboats.

Captain Zelman came into his office, his thoughts on two special items.

His map and Cremur.

"Are we really abandoning the ship?" Asked Cremur.

Zelman nodded, snatching his map of the table, "we've got no choice," he said, "but the Nine Islands are ahead of us. We won't be needing the Purger anymore."

On the deck, the crew was still scrambling for the lifeboats. Another wave crashed upon the ship, smashing down upon an unfortunate guy.

Captain Zelman shouted, "Hurry your asses up and get on those boats!"

Loraine took Cremur into her arms and stepped onto the first boat with Haromy, Lucy and Dee. Two others rushed onto the lifeboat, Captain Zelman and young Uleey.

"Is everyone ready?"

The crew members in the other four boats shouted back, "ready!"

"Alright! Three, two, one!"

The ropes were pulled and the boats plummeted towards the sea with a splash.

Loraine held Cremur close as the boat rocked uneasily.

Loraine shouted, loud enough for the crew to hear, "There's nothing standing between us and the Nine Islands! Push forward!"

Harmony, Dee and Uleey rowed the boat with all the strength, using the oars to push against the water.

The Nine Islands came closer...

...and closer...

"We did it. Honey," said Loraine, patting Zelman on the back, "we reached the Nine Islands, the home of our wishes."

Cremur did not want to think it was that easy

And it wasn't.

Nothing was easy.

The waves became torrential again, right after the waters started becoming calm! The waves crashed upon the tiny boat, casting water upon everyone.

Loraine gasped from the cold as the intense water soaked her completely.

Cremur hugged her tightly as the boat raced down the slopes of a gigantic wave.

Uleey had let go of her oar as she felt the bot descend. She screamed in her shrill voice, "Sweet lord, have mercy!"

Harmony performed the "father, son and Holy Spirit" and grabbed Dee's hand.

_I'm too young to die!_

Zelman was firm and stoic, preparing to feel the rush of wind.

The boat descended at unmatched speeds, and the shouts of the crew members rung out as they disappeared at the end of the wave.

"Cremur! Cremur!"

"Harmony! Where are you?"

Cremur was floating on a broken piece of plank, drifting further away from Loraine.

"Cremur!"

He opened his sleepy eyes and looked around for Loraine.

He couldn't see her

He heard her voice shouting,_ "Cremur! Cremur!"_

But he couldn't see her shining face

He looked around hesitantly

His eyes becoming dizzy

Loraine was gone-missing-he couldn't see her!

"Mama!" He called, "Mama!"

He was becoming frantic

He was all alone in the vast unending expanse of the deep blue sea!

...But then he remembered his amazing abilities

He was not fully human like he was starting to believe

He closed his eyes hard, organizing his thoughts

When his eyelids reopened, his eyes were fluorescent purple

He could farther than any human could

Cremur saw the worry that plagued Loraine, Harmony and Dee

"Mama!" He called again.

She still couldn't see him

To reach Loraine, he had only one choice left to him

He avoided shifting ever since he "killed" his father

The townsfolk had Cremur tied to a stake and set fire to it, calling him a "witch!"

It was around that time, that very moment when he was burning alive, that Loraine came to his rescue.

She and her crew were raiding the town

The ex-Viking-princess-turned-liberator took him in as her own

Inside her ship and in the comfort of her arms, She repaired Cremur's burned legs and called him her son

He never transformed to his Crotonianself after that

But now...now he had to

When Crotonians shift, anything they are wearing his either ripped off or tattered

They do not 'keep' their clothes like certain other shifters

Cremur kept his father's robes on the broken plank

And quicker thn one would say "thistle" he became his Crotonianself

The transformation was fast and swift

Cremur the Crotonian had long, velociraptor-like legs that were perfect for swimming, two long arms (and two tinier arms), a long tail and two long curved horns atop his head (shaped like a beautiful heart). He might one day grow the wasp wings that made his kind so revered. His ovipositor, hidden between his legs and a few inches before his sacred spot, served as both a stinger and life-giver.

He held onto the plank and dog-paddled his way to Loraine

When she saw her boy-the creature-coming towards her, she screamed in glee

"Cremur!"

She hugged him o-so tightly, not ever wanting to let go.

Cremur was human again, finally hugging his mother tightly

"Mama! I was scared but I...I..."

She shushed him, "Do not speak."

She carried him on her back, and he rested his head on her shoulders

"Let's get to the coast! The others are waiting," said Harmony.

Author Notes: I've always wanted to do a "Legends of" series. This was a very old idea of mine, but finally showing it to my fans is rewarding. I hope you love Cremur. PS: did you catch the Portal reference?


End file.
